No excessive spending on Hanoi anniversary: official

Speculation that trillions of dong have been spent for Hanoi’s millennial celebrations is not true, news website VnExpress has cited an official as saying.

Ho Quang Loi, head of the Hanoi Party Committe’s Department of Propaganda and Training, said although official figures hve not been released, spending for the celebration could not have reached that level.

He said the fund for activities to celebrate Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday came from various sources, including government budget and business contributions.

Loi also rejected rumors that dozens of people were killed by the firework explosion at My Dinh Stadium last Wednesday. He said that there were only four deaths and the explosion was caused by “techincal mistakes”. 

The city canceled fireworks displays at all planned venues except at the stadium, donating the funds to central provinces hit by floods.

In a report sent to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Hanoi People’s Committee said the anniversary celebration was organized economically. The 10-day celebration wrapped up last Sunday.

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Ancient Citadel to open to visitors on Hanoi’s anniversary

The Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the world-recognised heritage site, will open to visitors in time for Hanoi ’s 1,000 th anniversary, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee.

On Sept. 16, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung paid a visit to the site to check the arrangement of artifacts found at the 18 Hoang Dieu street, the archaeological excavation area for the planned exhibition.

The cleanup at relic site of the Thang Long citadel is also expected to finish by September 20.

The same day, a pair of ceramic dragons and an ornamental jar, which are largest ones in Vietnam , were inaugurated to celebrate the 1,000 anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The steel-framed dragons are modelled after the prominent style in the Ly Dynasty. Each is 30m long and decorated with 10,000 plates, cups and bowls.

The works, made by artists of Hanoi ’s Bat Trang traditional craft village, will be displayed at the Bach Thao (botanical) Garden during the celebration.

Also on September 16, the country’s largest drum made by Doi Tam village, Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province, was brought to Hanoi to be used during the ceremony to celebrate the 1,000 anniversary of the capital city.

The drum has a diametre of 2.35m, a height of 3m and a weight of 1,300kg. It was made by Pham Chi Khang family./.

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Hanoi anniversary: no hi-tech interventions to keep rain at bay

Hanoi will not employ foreign cloud-seeding technologies to keep it from raining during the 1,000th anniversary celebrations to be held this October, the government’s website reported Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, who is at helm of organizing the ten-day (October 1-10) anniversary celebrations, announced the decision after Hanoi authorities proposed that the costly technologies proposed by some experts are not deployed.

It would cost billions of dollars to deploy the technology that can help stop rains for three days, the government said.

Instead, the government ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to strictly observe and keep track of weather happenings and send advance reports to the capital. Reports have to be submitted during the events as well, the ministry was told.

In their proposal to the government, Hanoi’s authorities suggested moving celebration outdoor activities to the Vietnam National Convention Center in case of heavy rain.

Previously the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Protection had forecast that the city is likely to face flooding between August and October on the same scale as the one that killed 17 people in 2008.

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